Manistorhumi: Survival
by Dodectron
Summary: A science lesson, a history class and adventure all in one. A small chapter of ancient Earth's history as the inhabitants of the world clash for dominance.
1. Chapter 1

The planet was barren and empty; lifeless, truly dead in the empty cold of space. It circled an unremarkable star, surrounded by fellow gas giants and meteorites, dead planets and moons twirling together across the timeless vacuum.

The planet cooled from its previous molten and violently active self; land formed, mountains and valleys and flat plains that spread themselves seamlessly across the surface. Then the land broke, shattered by invisible seams that ran below the crust, powered by the engine of the core and forced into action. As this was happening, the stray hydrogen was bonding with oxygen, appearing on the transformed rock as water. This water grew and spread, continually appearing and disappearing in the natural interaction of heat and cold.

Very gradually, other elements were drawn into this water. Lightning storms struck the dead oceans, powering a miraculous engine in a mysterious sequence of action and interaction; the elements combined, transformed into molecules. The molecules bonded together and began the true life of cells and organelles; life had begun.

As life continued on its amazingly complex path, the world changed and changed again, never staying the same after all of those years in stale incompleteness. The Earth began to become what we know today; the beautiful, mysterious planet full of life that continues to adapt and evolve like nothing else in the universe. However, this universe is not the same one that we know; in this reality, upon this Earth, humans are not the dominant life form and perhaps shall never be.

Powered by mysterious forces, a completely new family tree was grown from one of those first single-cellular organisms. The creatures we know as Pocket Monsters evolved and grew alongside us, fighting for survival and defying the status of beasts or animals as they conquered the planet.

Now the crusts of the world had collided and created a supercontinent, known as Manistorhumi. Strange creatures live in this world, animals and pokémon that will never exist again. However, the humans live in this same world, and their high intelligence is beginning to make a difference.

We think that we know the future; but how? How did everything happen in such a wonderfully impossible way? The past is written with the blood of humans and pokémon, so that the future may be aspired to by the bloodied victors. Read the story of Manistorhumi and discover a small piece of ancient Earth that will never be found in any Science or History textbook.


	2. Chapter 2

The large animal slowly trudged through marshy grass, ignoring the unpleasant stickiness of mud and pebbles that was streaked through his brown fur. A small nose sniffed at the air, and he paused with one foreleg still raised; what was that scent? It was strange, a smell that didn't belong. He glanced at the ground and scowled with his massive front teeth.

The border.

A line of cracked earth, how far down it went, no pokémon knew. It was marked with all kinds of scents and clawing of tree bark, the ultimate edge of the territory. All wild creatures knew this. Even the stupider ones, the non-pokémon animals that were good for nothing but meat.

Then why was something moving on this side of the border?

The raticate shrank into the bushes and watched with the stillness that only a rodent could emulate. The shadow moved along the border slowly, snuffling through thick leaves and moaning unhappily at the warmer temperature as the sun broke through the great trees of Manistorhumi.

As it moved into view, the raticate realized what it was; one of the creatures from an opposite piece of land, one that preferred snow and ice to the humid forests that would be found here. It was in another territory. One that did not belong here. An enemy.

The warrior raticate hissed a warning and stood fearlessly.

The creature hesitated at the sight of an enemy, but raised its leafy arms defiantly and growled back. A raticate was not such a great enemy. Unfortunately for the snover, this raticate was a trained fighter. It lunged with incredible speed and bit straight through the snowy tree's neck, breaking its spinal column easily. The dead pokémon slumped to the ground, bleeding a clear and blue-tinted liquid that froze the grass.

The raticate looked over at the other territory. More would come here, partly to clear away the body, but also to take revenge on an imagined crime. He seized the body with his huge teeth and dragged it down the path, ignoring a painfully chilling sensation in his teeth.


	3. Chapter 3

The grass felt like wet whips across his legs; running in the way that only humans can, the young boy leapt easily over a small creek and dashed over an open area, skilfully dodging behind trees and pausing until the stream of poisonous darts fired past. He breathed hard, eyes bright and face flushed; but this was good. He felt the power in his veins, the strength that came from battle. His hand tightened around the wooden handle of his stone axe and he waited; the hunter would look for him soon.

And it did.

It stomped over the soggy grass, impatient that its prey had to be so fast and small. The purple horned menace sniffed and snuffled at nearby fallen logs; the boy swallowed as he saw it stab straight through a tree that he had been considering using as his hiding-place.

The poison gleamed on the nidorino's horn, secreting on the tree trunk and making it sizzle with a spicy, fresh smell that burned the boy's nose. He ignored the unsettling sensation and waited, holding his breath in fear that the predator would smell it.

It wasn't a very smart pokémon; none of the creatures were, not in the way that humans were smart. The nidorino was completely unaware as it stepped into a noose and was yanked off its feet, dragged by a heavy stone into a niche between two rocks. The purple hunter roared in agony as its leg popped and dislocated from the extreme weight, but the trap was too cleverly set to be escaped with pure force.

The boy approached his prey, quietly satisfied.

The nidorino glared up at the boy with eyes of fire, trying to frighten him away. It knew what was coming. He had seen this happen, if not with such a clever trap, to his brothers and relatives. The boy raised the stone axe and swung it at the fallen pokémon's face. It squeezed its eyes shut at the last moment.

_Thunk._

"RAAaaaaaaaarrGHH!" the nidorino cried.

The purple horn that had glistened with poison was lying on the ground. The boy knew it was safe; none of the creatures would dare attack in such a vulnerable position. For being animals, these beasts were far more intelligent than the livestock humans bred and fed upon during cold month.

"Mine. Mine," the boy repeated in a grunting language. The nidorino hissed, but the fire was gone from his eyes. He didn't resist the primitive rope that tied his neck to the boy's hand. He stood silently as the boy untied the rock from his leg and pulled on his end of the rope.

"Come."

And the nidorino went.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey to all readers, and thanks for reading. This is a compilation of short stories based in this world that I have created; an alternate, prehistoric universe of Pokémon. I'd like to thank the 8 people that have read my stories so far, and I invite you all to look forward to one of the major fights that will be featured in a few chapters. More information will be revealed closer to that time.**

The snow was a thick skin over the grass and seeds that would give sustenance to grazers and fliers; meat-hunters fed well, striking down the sick and weak that stumbled through cold and rain to find food. Trees rose as silent sentinels over this frozen land, some of them not standing still as trees should; several fat specimens shook themselves of falling snow and trundled to a different spot as if this was completely natural.

A small creature hovered over the ice and sleet. It was light blue, head shielded with an orange helmet that seemed oddly like a clutching hand. The thing's eyes were closed, but one had the sense that it was still watching with vigilance.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuxxxx," the pokémon uttered, a command that had the snover and abomasnow nearby gathering beneath it obediently. Staravia, buneary, even a half-frozen burmy appeared and were collected in a crowd beneath their leader. Uxie seemed to gaze at them all, though it did not open its eyes. Confident that none was missing, it raised its arms and held its two tails in front of itself like extra hands.

_Extraction of history record- translated pokémon speech._

-Greetings, my brethren. Thank you for coming at my call. We all here are eaters of flesh, whether plant or beast is our preference; may our gathering be bound by this similarity, whether our travel be limited to flight or crawl over Manistorhumi.

A threat has been given to us by a neighbouring tribe; the followers of our enemy, the Kantoian gods, have murdered one of our own.

-Gasps from the surrounding pokémon.

-Yes, they have truly been foolish. We must avenge this shameful murder, this betrayal of the sacred Border! Collect your families and meet at the edge; we shall march upon them and destroy them once and for all!

_End of translation._

Uxie soared into the sky, disappearing into thick, freezing clouds. The creatures below hissed and murmured to each other before going their separate ways. The promise of a fight was always met with mixed feelings, but all pokémon felt the same pride and eagerness for a chance to outsmart and kill one of their ancient racial enemies.

A delibird wheeled away overhead, unnoticed by the inhabitants of this cold land. It flapped back to the lands belonging to the Johtoians, eager to deliver the secrets it had gleaned from this enemy's council of war.

A beautiful sparkling blue bird dove in and out of the clouds, flying in the opposite direction; there was no way that the Sinnohians could surprise their enemy now, with one of the Kantoian Gods knowing their plans.


	5. Chapter 5

**What wonderful readers I have! Already 46 of you, and though you guys haven't left me an encouraging note or anything, I still want to keep going. If you like a particular story or character and want me to either continue their lives or add them in an important plot scene, go ahead and say so. So once more, thank you for reading and please enjoy today's chapter.**

Man and pokémon soon arrived at a village; small huts, arranged in a semi-circle and facing the nearest Border; a precaution necessary if the villagers were to defend themselves. The young boy was towing a large purple animal behind him, its poisonous horn severed and left in the forest behind them. The nidoran was dead-eyed, trudging. It knew that death awaited, but couldn't fight the impulse to surrender to a superior force. Mental ability had defeated strength... for now.

The villagers were surprised by the boy's victory, but cheered and gathered around the beast with high spirits. They would feed well for a week, the boy and his family receiving the best parts. The shaman was disappointed that the horn had already been removed, abandoned, but cheered when he sliced the other spikes from its body. The nidoran roared in agony as it was cut, but the humans ignored its suffering.

"Food... already. Tomorrow. Nidoran, tomorrow," the chief grunted to the boy. "Feed... feed, eat tomorrow."

The boy nodded solemnly and dragged the creature away.

It was forced into a dark cave, the opening blocked up and weighed down by a heavy rock. Even the nidoran's great strength could not break open the stone cage; even if it broke out of apathetic misery.

The boy hesitated and shoved several handfuls of dried grass in with the purple animal.

The nidoran was stunned by this tiny show of sympathy- it felt something warm and unusual curl in its black heart. The stone closed over the cave again, and the pokémon thoughtfully munched on the grass with its grinding teeth.

The villagers feasted upon a tauros that had been bravely slain by one of the warriorwomen of the tribe. The boy happily ate his share and paused; there was too much for everyone, and some would get wasted. He didn't know if it was right, but something in his heart curled up in cold at the thought of leaving his catch without food until it was eaten.

The boy stole some meat and hid it in his shirt. No-one noticed.

"Nidoran. Nidoran," the boy whispered and levered the great stone from the cave. The nidoran sleepily opened its eyes and stared at the boy. It started back when he threw pieces of meat to it, but the familiar smell quickly reassured it and the nidoran tore the food to pieces.

The boy watched, a sense of accomplishment falling on his thin shoulders.

The nidoran swallowed its meal and glanced at the boy hungrily. The boy used his stick to hit the nidoran over the head. "No. Bad."

Nidoran looked back down, but its ears pointed backwards in pleasure.


End file.
